President Duterte has not yet opened the resumption of the joint session of Congress to report on the status of the nation when this was being written. So we do not know if he mentioned the state of this nation’s freshwater supply. If not, please heed our own simple message: It is time to get serious about saving water.
The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) said even simple things, like the alulod system to harvest rainwater for nonpotable household use, can help a lot in averting a serious water shortage in the next few years.
The revival of the alulod water-collection system, a practical and reliable method used by our ancestors, was suggested during the last presummit meeting on water held on July 12, which our reporter Jonathan L. Mayuga wrote about in a recent story.
Under this traditional system, people harvest rainwater by simply placing a drum or basin at the end of the alulod for domestic uses, like flushing the toilet, watering the garden and washing clothes.
We have been warned for years about an impending water crisis. Whether these worst-case scenarios will actually happen or not, we would do well to prepare for them. Our apathy could only make them come true.
The Philippines is actually rich in water resources. The country has 421 river basins, 72 lakes and numerous streams and creeks. As an archipelago, we have control over 479 billion cubic meters of ground and surface water, according to the DENR. Theoretically we should have enough water for both our ecological and economic needs, but this is not the case, even now.
According to the Annual Poverty Indicators Survey in 2014, 15 million Filipinos still have to rely on unsafe water for their everyday drinking, cooking and hygiene needs. In May 2016 a total of 18 provinces have remained under a state of calamity due to El Niño, which caused severe water shortages and reportedly destroyed P6 billion worth of crops in the Philippines.
An Environmental Management Bureau study revealed that 66 percent of the country’s 611 classified inland bodies of water were deemed unsuitable for human consumption.
We obviously haven’t invested enough to deliver our water to where it is needed. We have also failed to recognize the value of water.
Improper waste disposal due to the absence of waste-management and sewage-treatment facilities in many areas have led to the massive degradation of our water sources. How many countries, for instance, would have loved to have a Pasig River, which was once teeming with aquatic life and whose water was once potable, that is before it became a convenient dumping ground for our people’s waste?
We need to take better care of our water sources and reform how they are governed.
No less than the President should ensure that all the agencies, institutions and groups, and all the laws and regulations concerned with water-resource management are able to work effectively to avert a water crisis and ensure sustainable water supply and sanitation.
Duterte should require specific water-conservation measures from water agencies like the National Water Resources Board, the National Irrigation Administration, the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System, Manila Water, Maynilad and other water distributors.
Congress must also make sure our water agencies are adequately funded to do their jobs well. It should use its significant oversight functions to monitor the agencies’ performance. New laws and regulations could also be passed imposing heavy penalties on wasting water.
Private concessionaires could offer incentives, like water savings rebates, to encourage businesses and residents to conserve water; and free consultations to help them figure out how to do so, such as checking for leaks and providing specific recommendations for water use.
Manila Water and Maynilad must also significantly reduce their own systems losses or water leaks.
The President should also order the Department of Science and Technology to look at what technologies can be used to treat and clean our water resources that have been polluted so we can use them.
But it’s not just the government’s job. We need to involve everyone in water management because water is fundamental to life and health, as well as our nation’s economy. For starters, let’s stop polluting our lakes and rivers with our wastes and let’s use the water we have more efficiently.
The threat of water scarcity affects us all and we can’t take a business-as-usual approach.